Q+A: Laser Bore-sighter for Leveling Scope

Q: I am new to long range shooting & have read your “Long Range Shooting Handbook” through a couple of times. Now I am at the point of preparing to mount (& level) my scope to a Ruger RPR. My usual technique for leveling a scope involves the use of a bore sighter & I’d appreciate your comments on this method. I would prepare the scope for leveling as described in your book. Then I’d install the bore sighter & rotate the scope & the bore sighter until the verticle cross-hair is superimposed on the centerline of the bore sighter’s verticle lines. My theory is that then the scope is level & the verticle cross hair is in line with the center of the rifle’s bore. Your comments, please.

A: In my experience, laser bore-sighters are near useless. They are never as straight as you think they are. And, even it if was perfectly straight with the bore, there’s no guarantee that your vertical cross-hair is where it is supposed to be for a “zeroed” system. For example, your vertical crosshair may need to come a few minutes to one side or the other to be zeroed. If it is to the side (very likely), then you’ll be rotating your scope to get an uncentered crosshair to line up with the bore – not good. Instead, level your scope, then go zero it. If you like, you can hang a string with a weight (plumb-bob) and align the vertical crosshair with it. Then, rotation-wise, you’ll be level. Then you can move your reticle up/down and left/right to zero it later. Of course, a level scope without a perfectly level rifle underneath it won’t work.